Killit - Shut It Down

Originally hailing from Hungary, Israel, Argentina and Britain, KILLIT was founded at the beginning of this year and they quickly released their first video for single “Shut It Down,” which has to date racked up close to 100K views. Their debut album contains twelve tracks, and I will try to highlight some of the more memorable ones. The title track is great. It’s a simple, straightforward riff reminiscent of some music that you may have heard in the 80’s or 90’s, without any fanfare that came with the images from back then. Vocally it is pretty clear, with some gritty edges now and again. “See The End” has lots of energy and spunk, and some good vocal harmonies in the chorus.

“Our Last Goodbye” is as poignant as you would expect from the title. It’s a ballad/power ballad, but manages to stay out of the “cheesy” range that sometimes accompanies these attempts, because it isn’t overly sweet, but more on the genuine side. “Calling You For The Very Last Time” has a bit of a Southern feeling to it, crossing Rock and Blues into a track that speaks of severing ties of love. “Dragging Me Down” had a slow and low registering riff that seems to compliment the song title very well. Again the vocals are the strong suit here but the instrumentation is fairly minimal. Sometimes vocals can make all the difference but there needs to be a little more meat outside of that dirty riff. “Crash And Burn” closes the album, with a sleazy riff and a track at over five minutes in length. It might be the most well-composed song on the album, as it flirts with some darker elements that give it an edge.

Overall, the album presents as Hard Rock that lies somewhere between the Glam bands of the 1980’s and the Post-Grunge Pop of the 1990’s, without some of the over-the-top antics of 80’s bands or obligatory flannel wearing angst of the 90’s bands. It’s not bad as a collection of songs, it’s just not something terribly original, and some of the stand-outs get lost in the twelve track album. I am not very well connected with Rock music that plays on the radio these days, but there is certainly that accessibility here on “Shut It Down.”

Songwriting: 5Originality: 5Memorability: 5Production: 7

Tracklist:

1. Shut It Down2. Say My Name3. Calm Before The Storm4. See The End5. Take The Power6. Our Last Goodbye7. I Ain’t Playing Your Game8. Calling You For The Very Last Time9. Dragging Me Down10. Draw The Line11. Don’t Look Back12. Crash And Burn